Disclaimer: I do not own Starcraft, everything to do with Starcraft is owned by Blizzard.
Authors Note: Text that is written in between these: -- (Text) -- signifies when the character is thinking. The text between the -- is what he is thinking at that moment in time.
*Terran Volamose Protectorate Headquarters on Kadnor VI, 12:34 PM*
"You wanted to see me Admiral?" Mike O'Connor, Sergeant of the 16th and 19th Ghost Units, asked, pushing open the door and entering the office. Admiral Nick Anderson was sitting behind his desk, casually sipping on a martini.
"Yes please, have a seat. Can I get you a drink?" The Admiral asked, pressing a button on his desk. A large opening appeared in the wall, revealing a full bar.
"Scotch please." Mike sat down in the leather chair in front of the desk. While the Admiral was getting the drinks, he admired the sheer number of trophies and medals that ornamented the shelves and walls. Beyond the Admirals chair, a large window revealed the beauty of space. Stars speckled across the black sky, and small planets and their moons shone brightly, basking the room in silver light.
"Rocks?" Mike was brought back to reality sharply. "No, straight up, thanks." The Admiral returned with the drinks, then got serious.
"As you probably know, the Zerg have taken over the planet Khan'Alas, along with its fifth, sixth, and eight moons. This cannot be allowed, the Khan'Alas system is an invaluable resource for Vespene." Nick took another taste of his Martini and pressed another button on his desk. Instantly a holographic projector popped up. An image of Khan'Alas rotated slowly around, purple showing the amount of the planet controlled by the Zerg. "As you can see here, the Zerg have taken control of sixty-seven percent of the planet. We simply cannot allow them to advance any farther." He leaned forward and spoke into a microphone on the desk. "Computer, zoom in on Khan'Alas, coordinates 68.296.009."
Instantly the holograph of Khan'Alas was replaced by that of a massive cerebrate, its vile pulsating body sending off psychic commands to the Zergs. "What the board of Commanders thinks, is that if we send in a small Infantry unit too destroy the Cerebrate, mostly likely by planting a bomb on it, then we will have a much better chance of succeeding with an aerial attack, as the Zerg's will be very disorganized without their brain slug."
"Admiral, to send men down into the core of the Zerg's cluster would not only be insane, but impossible. Dropships would be blown out of the sky by their Spore Colonies within a matter of seconds!" Mike protested, trying to absorb the sheer insanity of what the Admiral was saying. But much to his surprise, the Admiral was smiling from ear to ear.
"Not quite Sergeant." He leaned into the microphone again. "Doctor Kellhoff, would you come in here please." Nick waited for a few moments until a man entered. Doctor Aaron Kellhoff appeared to be in his early sixties, his receding hairline suggested as much, along with the many wrinkles around his eyes. The scientist wore thick-framed glasses, and he blinked like a mole behind them. He was wearing a Scientists cloak that was covered in purple goo of some sort.
"Sorry about my poor attire Admiral, I was just doing a dissection of a preserved piece of the Zerg's blasted creep, trying to figure out what the hell its made of." Aaron then noticed Mike, and extended his hand. Mike took one look at the scientists purple covered hand and gagged.
"Uh, Doctor, why don't you wash your hands quickly." Nick said, tossing a wet rag to the Doctor. Obviously embarrassed, Aaron withdrew his hand and washed it vigorously. Then he extended it towards Mike, and the Ghost took if politely.
"Doctor Aaron Kelhoff, Chief in charge of Military Research."
"Mike O'Connor, Sergeant of the 16th and 19th Ghost Units." Now that the formalities were complete, the doctor took a seat next to Mike. The doctor twisted the microphone around, "Computer, display image of the Falcon please." An image of a small ship that Mike had not seen before appeared.
"Meet the future of stealth missions. This is a prototype of the Falcon Version II Dropship. It has the bes..." Mike cut Aaron off in midsentence. "Version II? What happened to Version I?" The doctor shuffled his feet uneasily and looked at the floor as he spoke. "It encountered...uh...problems." Then looking up, he quickly added, "But we've made major adjustments and were sure that it won't explode this time.
"Explode?!" Mike practically yelled. --The damned thing exploded, and now they want to do that same thing again?! That's crazy!--
"It won't happen again, I assure you. We have tested it a number of times and worked out all the bugs." Aaron, wiping beads of sweat from his forehead. Mike looked to the Admiral, who didn't appear to be reacting either way.
"As I was saying, the Falcon II utilizes the best in stealth and armor technology. Made from a metal called Galdium, which we found on the planet Akaro Three. This metal is very rare, and is very strong. As for the stealth technology, we've attached a design called the Omnipath. It is designed to send out bursts of electromagnetic waves that are designed to jam the sensors of any biological detector. This means, even the Spore Colonies won't be able to see you while the Omnipath is activated. However, the machine can only run for one and a half minutes, which should be plenty to get you in, without being detected."
"How about getting us out?" Mike asked indignantly. The doctor looked at him blankly and said matter-of-factly, "The Omnipath only takes thirty seconds to recharge fully, and then you will be able to be picked up. So if you merely set the detonators for more than three or so minutes, you'll be fine."
"I don't mean to be a pain in the ass, but what about us? Once that Omnipath goes offline, those Colonies and the Overlords will be able to see us, and then were screwed." Mike pointed out. --Once were spotted there will be hundreds of Zergs attacking us, not to mention the probability of Sunken Colonies.--
"We've prepared for that too. You see we've made a smaller Omnipath, one that attaches to your Ghosts stealth suit. These smaller versions only lasts for forty-five seconds, but by then the Falcon II Will have recharged fully." Aaron explained.
"I guess this might, might, be able to work." --As long as those Omnipaths do their jobs, this should be a piece of cake.--
"I assure you it will. Now Admiral, I really must complete this dissection before the Creep decomposes." Aaron said, rising from his seat.
"Yes, please. Thank you for the briefing." The Admiral dismissed the man, then turned back to Mike. "I want you to select your two best men from your units. The Falcon only has enough room for three people." Nick leaned forward to stare at Mike eye to eye. "Remember, this mission must succeed." The Admiral rose from his seat and turned to face the window. He swirled his martini around in the glass and drank the rest. "You leave at 14:00 hours Sergeant. Give `em hell, and come back alive.
*****
Mike drummed his fingers nervously against his leg, looking around at the two Ghosts he had chosen, he could see they were nervous too. They were all cramped tightly in the small hold of the Falcon II. Mike had to admit he was impressed, the Falcon II was virtually silent and exceptionally fast. --If they only made the Omnipath work for longer, we could bomb every section of their base and they wouldn't be able to do a thing about it.--
The pilot swiveled his head around to face them. "Three minutes till drop boys, I'm activating the Omnipath in two minutes, so you'll have thirty seconds to activate yours." Mike nodded, wiping sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. Normally he wouldn't be so nervous, it's just that this technology had not had extensive testing and there were no guarantees it would work.
Mike looked at the two Ghosts he had chosen. One was the Captain of the 16th Unit; the other was Captain of the 19th unit. Joe Moreno, Captain of the 16th Unit was tall and was the bombs specialist, he would be handling the bomb and placement of it on the mission. They had all had extensive bombs training, all ghosts had, but Moreno was the best of the best. He had short, wavy blond hair and murky brown eyes. He was quite tall and muscular, and had very broad shoulders. The other Captain, James Walker was shorter than Moreno by nearly a foot, but was just as muscular. Walker had buzzed brown hair and greenish eyes. They were both sweating profusely, as was Mike.
"Approaching drop point, activating ships Omnipath." The pilot, Lance Olgor pushed a combination of buttons on the onboard computer and though it was not visible or audible, the Omnipath kicked in. A counter appeared on the computer screen, and it start counting down from ninety seconds. The Ghosts stood up, though they had to bend down a bit to avoid hitting the ceiling. They pulled on there helmets and loaded their C-10 Canister Rifles. Mike's heart was pounding like a jackhammer as suddenly the door panel slid open and the Sergeant found himself staring at miles beyond miles of Zerg infested terrain.
Authors Note: Text that is written in between these: -- (Text) -- signifies when the character is thinking. The text between the -- is what he is thinking at that moment in time.
*Terran Volamose Protectorate Headquarters on Kadnor VI, 12:34 PM*
"You wanted to see me Admiral?" Mike O'Connor, Sergeant of the 16th and 19th Ghost Units, asked, pushing open the door and entering the office. Admiral Nick Anderson was sitting behind his desk, casually sipping on a martini.
"Yes please, have a seat. Can I get you a drink?" The Admiral asked, pressing a button on his desk. A large opening appeared in the wall, revealing a full bar.
"Scotch please." Mike sat down in the leather chair in front of the desk. While the Admiral was getting the drinks, he admired the sheer number of trophies and medals that ornamented the shelves and walls. Beyond the Admirals chair, a large window revealed the beauty of space. Stars speckled across the black sky, and small planets and their moons shone brightly, basking the room in silver light.
"Rocks?" Mike was brought back to reality sharply. "No, straight up, thanks." The Admiral returned with the drinks, then got serious.
"As you probably know, the Zerg have taken over the planet Khan'Alas, along with its fifth, sixth, and eight moons. This cannot be allowed, the Khan'Alas system is an invaluable resource for Vespene." Nick took another taste of his Martini and pressed another button on his desk. Instantly a holographic projector popped up. An image of Khan'Alas rotated slowly around, purple showing the amount of the planet controlled by the Zerg. "As you can see here, the Zerg have taken control of sixty-seven percent of the planet. We simply cannot allow them to advance any farther." He leaned forward and spoke into a microphone on the desk. "Computer, zoom in on Khan'Alas, coordinates 68.296.009."
Instantly the holograph of Khan'Alas was replaced by that of a massive cerebrate, its vile pulsating body sending off psychic commands to the Zergs. "What the board of Commanders thinks, is that if we send in a small Infantry unit too destroy the Cerebrate, mostly likely by planting a bomb on it, then we will have a much better chance of succeeding with an aerial attack, as the Zerg's will be very disorganized without their brain slug."
"Admiral, to send men down into the core of the Zerg's cluster would not only be insane, but impossible. Dropships would be blown out of the sky by their Spore Colonies within a matter of seconds!" Mike protested, trying to absorb the sheer insanity of what the Admiral was saying. But much to his surprise, the Admiral was smiling from ear to ear.
"Not quite Sergeant." He leaned into the microphone again. "Doctor Kellhoff, would you come in here please." Nick waited for a few moments until a man entered. Doctor Aaron Kellhoff appeared to be in his early sixties, his receding hairline suggested as much, along with the many wrinkles around his eyes. The scientist wore thick-framed glasses, and he blinked like a mole behind them. He was wearing a Scientists cloak that was covered in purple goo of some sort.
"Sorry about my poor attire Admiral, I was just doing a dissection of a preserved piece of the Zerg's blasted creep, trying to figure out what the hell its made of." Aaron then noticed Mike, and extended his hand. Mike took one look at the scientists purple covered hand and gagged.
"Uh, Doctor, why don't you wash your hands quickly." Nick said, tossing a wet rag to the Doctor. Obviously embarrassed, Aaron withdrew his hand and washed it vigorously. Then he extended it towards Mike, and the Ghost took if politely.
"Doctor Aaron Kelhoff, Chief in charge of Military Research."
"Mike O'Connor, Sergeant of the 16th and 19th Ghost Units." Now that the formalities were complete, the doctor took a seat next to Mike. The doctor twisted the microphone around, "Computer, display image of the Falcon please." An image of a small ship that Mike had not seen before appeared.
"Meet the future of stealth missions. This is a prototype of the Falcon Version II Dropship. It has the bes..." Mike cut Aaron off in midsentence. "Version II? What happened to Version I?" The doctor shuffled his feet uneasily and looked at the floor as he spoke. "It encountered...uh...problems." Then looking up, he quickly added, "But we've made major adjustments and were sure that it won't explode this time.
"Explode?!" Mike practically yelled. --The damned thing exploded, and now they want to do that same thing again?! That's crazy!--
"It won't happen again, I assure you. We have tested it a number of times and worked out all the bugs." Aaron, wiping beads of sweat from his forehead. Mike looked to the Admiral, who didn't appear to be reacting either way.
"As I was saying, the Falcon II utilizes the best in stealth and armor technology. Made from a metal called Galdium, which we found on the planet Akaro Three. This metal is very rare, and is very strong. As for the stealth technology, we've attached a design called the Omnipath. It is designed to send out bursts of electromagnetic waves that are designed to jam the sensors of any biological detector. This means, even the Spore Colonies won't be able to see you while the Omnipath is activated. However, the machine can only run for one and a half minutes, which should be plenty to get you in, without being detected."
"How about getting us out?" Mike asked indignantly. The doctor looked at him blankly and said matter-of-factly, "The Omnipath only takes thirty seconds to recharge fully, and then you will be able to be picked up. So if you merely set the detonators for more than three or so minutes, you'll be fine."
"I don't mean to be a pain in the ass, but what about us? Once that Omnipath goes offline, those Colonies and the Overlords will be able to see us, and then were screwed." Mike pointed out. --Once were spotted there will be hundreds of Zergs attacking us, not to mention the probability of Sunken Colonies.--
"We've prepared for that too. You see we've made a smaller Omnipath, one that attaches to your Ghosts stealth suit. These smaller versions only lasts for forty-five seconds, but by then the Falcon II Will have recharged fully." Aaron explained.
"I guess this might, might, be able to work." --As long as those Omnipaths do their jobs, this should be a piece of cake.--
"I assure you it will. Now Admiral, I really must complete this dissection before the Creep decomposes." Aaron said, rising from his seat.
"Yes, please. Thank you for the briefing." The Admiral dismissed the man, then turned back to Mike. "I want you to select your two best men from your units. The Falcon only has enough room for three people." Nick leaned forward to stare at Mike eye to eye. "Remember, this mission must succeed." The Admiral rose from his seat and turned to face the window. He swirled his martini around in the glass and drank the rest. "You leave at 14:00 hours Sergeant. Give `em hell, and come back alive.
*****
Mike drummed his fingers nervously against his leg, looking around at the two Ghosts he had chosen, he could see they were nervous too. They were all cramped tightly in the small hold of the Falcon II. Mike had to admit he was impressed, the Falcon II was virtually silent and exceptionally fast. --If they only made the Omnipath work for longer, we could bomb every section of their base and they wouldn't be able to do a thing about it.--
The pilot swiveled his head around to face them. "Three minutes till drop boys, I'm activating the Omnipath in two minutes, so you'll have thirty seconds to activate yours." Mike nodded, wiping sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. Normally he wouldn't be so nervous, it's just that this technology had not had extensive testing and there were no guarantees it would work.
Mike looked at the two Ghosts he had chosen. One was the Captain of the 16th Unit; the other was Captain of the 19th unit. Joe Moreno, Captain of the 16th Unit was tall and was the bombs specialist, he would be handling the bomb and placement of it on the mission. They had all had extensive bombs training, all ghosts had, but Moreno was the best of the best. He had short, wavy blond hair and murky brown eyes. He was quite tall and muscular, and had very broad shoulders. The other Captain, James Walker was shorter than Moreno by nearly a foot, but was just as muscular. Walker had buzzed brown hair and greenish eyes. They were both sweating profusely, as was Mike.
"Approaching drop point, activating ships Omnipath." The pilot, Lance Olgor pushed a combination of buttons on the onboard computer and though it was not visible or audible, the Omnipath kicked in. A counter appeared on the computer screen, and it start counting down from ninety seconds. The Ghosts stood up, though they had to bend down a bit to avoid hitting the ceiling. They pulled on there helmets and loaded their C-10 Canister Rifles. Mike's heart was pounding like a jackhammer as suddenly the door panel slid open and the Sergeant found himself staring at miles beyond miles of Zerg infested terrain.